"Everything was falling into place. The packs were bonding once more. Even the Volturi seemed to accept my new status - though they'd want proof eventually. It seemed we had only one enemy left. Time."
___
"So, did you think more about my offer?"
Kiara tilted her head to look at Sam as they stood on the beach, watching the rest of the packs kick a soccer ball about in the distance. Even Leah had joined in, taking it as a good excuse to "accidentally" elbow Paul once or twice.
"Not really," Kiara murmured back, but they both knew that was a lie. It had been consuming her every thought for the past two weeks since Sam had been introduced to Renesmee. "A bit, I guess."
"Too much?"
"Yeah," Kiara breathed, dropping the unbothered facade. "It is too much, Sam. I'm not... I'm not like you. I won't be here forever."
Sam didn't need to ask what she meant. He'd thought about the implication of the immortality of the Cullen's, and what that would mean for Seth and Kiara. Maybe even Jake too - if Renesmee was immortal, which was yet to be determined. She'd leave La Push when the Cullens had to leave, following her imprint across the world. So would Seth. They would remain shifting as long as they were near the vampires, and they'd stop aging soon.
The rest of them wouldn't. They'd stop phasing when the Cullens left - maybe even before then - and they'd age. Kiara and Seth would outlive them all, maybe Jacob too. It was the elephant in all the rooms: the Cullen house, the Black cabin, the Clearwater house... it was the unspoken hardship of their imprinting.
"I'll need to go, Sam," Kiara continued after a moment, pausing to make sure neither of the packs were paying attention. "And an alpha can't abandon their pack. You know that better than anyone."
Sam nodded, a small smile on his lips as he looked at the girl beside him. She'd came a long way since the night she had found out they were shapeshifters. He hated that she'd been forced to grow up so quickly, but it was moments like this that he knew she was born for more than just a mundane life.
"We could do it together," he murmured back, keeping his voice low and trying to make sure the attention wasn't on them. The packs both knew about Sam's offer - but that didn't mean they wanted them to hear every conversation about it. "Co-alpha it. You know I'd give it to you in a heartbeat, but if that's not what you want... we could do it together."
Kiara had given the alpha offer a lot of thought. But not once had she considered the idea of her and Sam acting as joint alphas. It seemed bizarre that she hadn't even considered it, but the thought sent a spark of electricity up her spine.
"Let me sleep on it," Kiara said, a small smile tugging at her lips. Sam smiled back, patting her shoulder before he broke off into a jog, running towards the packs and surprise-tackling Jared so that Leah would be able to pluck the ball from his feet.
She watched them all play, the gentle La Push breeze blowing her hair as she moved her head to glance out across the sea. It was getting colder now - and she knew the Winter snow would be upon them before they even knew it.
There was an uneasy feeling in her stomach. It had only grown alongside Renesmee, the concern about what happened next festering in her stomach as the girl aged years within the past two weeks. She knew some of the others felt it too - she could see the unease in Alice's eyes when she looked at the growth chart, the held-back concern from Carlisle. Bella and Edward were in bliss for now, but Kiara knew even Bella was beginning to feel concerned.
Kiara just hoped that whatever happened next wasn't going to end up as some life-threatening battle. She'd have enough of that.
____
"Do you think Kiara would enjoy a romantic dinner?" Rosalie asked gently as she sat down in front of Beverly, who had aimlessly been flicking through one of Alice's fashion catalogues to find a new leather jacket. She wasn't too sure what had happened to her favourite one, but she had a gut feeling Alice had taken it to play dress-up with Renesmee. Whatever.
Beverly looked up, a perfect eyebrow rising slightly in amusement as Emmett put down his newspaper. They both shared a look before Emmett smirked, causing Beverly to roll her eyes and pass him a twenty dollar bill from her pocket. Rosalie narrowed her eyes as she looked between the husband and wife duo, instantly feeling like there was something major that she was missing out on.
"What?"
Emmett chuckled, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he pocketed the money.
"Well, Rose, you see, we made a little bet," he explained, leaning back in his chair with a proud grin. Beverly crossed her arms and nodded in agreement, her lips curling into a sly smile. Rosalie's lips dropped into a displeased snarl, hating that her life was seemingly a topic of discussion behind closed doors.
"What on earth are you two talking about?" Rosalie demanded, feeling a mix of curiosity and annoyance at being left out of their little game. Her perfect features contorted into an expression of confusion.
"We bet on whether or not you were feeling guilty for how you treated Kiara," he confessed, unable to contain his amusement any longer.
Rosalie's eyes widened in surprise and confusion. She hadn't expected that. Guilty? Yes, she had been harsh towards Kiara about the wolves and Renesmee... and yes, she had been experiencing a lot of guilt about how she had been treating Kiara. It wasn't an emotion she often allowed herself to feel. And yet, when she'd tried to make things right, Kiara had forgiven her without a single second thought. How could Kiara be so patient and understanding with her, when Rosalie herself was constantly ready to accuse her of putting the family at risk without a second thought?
Emmett nudged Beverly lightly in the ribs, a silent reminder that she had lost the bet. He smirked triumphantly at his wife, but her attention was transfixed on Rosalie who seemed to be having thousands of thoughts crossing through her head in a mere matter of seconds.
"I don't need your bets. I know what happened between me and Kiara, and I've already apologised," Rosalie snapped, but her defences were up and Beverly could see right through her sister. She always had been able to - and Emmett had became incredibly skilled at the doing the exact same. Their words had hit a nerve with Rosalie - rightfully so.
"Listen, Rose, we all have our reasons for acting the way we do," Emmett said, raising his hands in defence as he leaned back in his seat once more, picking up the newspaper that he had been reading as Edward entered the room with Renesmee following closely behind. She was now slowly walking - something that was freaking them all out. But sometimes, we have to put those reasons aside and think about the bigger picture."
Rosalie sighed, running a hand through her golden waves. Guilt was not an emotion she was accustomed to or comfortable with. But in the depths of her heart, she knew that her treatment towards Kiara had been unfair. The girl had been thrust into a world she never asked for, and Rosalie had made it even more difficult for her.
"Oh, Rose. You can't fool me. I've known you for long enough to see through that tough exterior. There's guilt there, whether you want to admit it or not," Beverly continued, leaning forward as she stared her sister down across the table.
"Fine, you win," Rosalie muttered begrudgingly, her eyes lingering on the family portrait hanging on the wall. "I have been feeling... I apologised to her but she just shrugged it off and said everything was okay. It's been eating me up, quite a lot."
Emmett and Beverly exchanged satisfied glances, their playful banter momentarily put aside as they recognized the sincerity in Rosalie's admission. It was rare for her to show vulnerability, especially when it came to matters of the heart.
"It's not too late to make things right, Rose," Beverly said softly. "Kiara is forgiving - even more so because of the imprint - but that doesn't mean she doesn't still need your support and comfort. She's been through so much, just like the rest of us... and she's going through a lot right now with the two packs thing."
"I don't know how to change," Rosalie admitted quietly, her voice laced with vulnerability. "I'm not good at this whole... realising I'm in the wrong thing."
"Hey, you don't need to be great at it," Edward said, having been silent while the siblings had conversed. Renesmee was now pressing gently on piano keys as Edward sat on the bench beside her. Rosalie's eyes flickered to glare a hole in the back of his head for a minute as she waited for him to continue his train of thought. "Kiara loves you more than anything else in the world, but Beverly is right - you just need to show her that you're sorry. You can say sorry all you want, but we all know Kiara listens more to actions than just words."
She might of hated Edward for what he had put their family through, but damn, he sure as hell knew exactly what to say when she needed it most.
_____
"You're anxious."
Kiara turned around as Jasper spoke up, the shifter almost jumping in surprise from not having heard him approaching. She smiled a little, his tense posture always bringing her some sort of comfort. He was always on edge, and she kind of liked that.
"Hey Jasper," Kiara replied, before realising he had made a statement. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
"I know we've never been as close as you are to my siblings... but I've been told I'm a pretty good listener."
Kiara smiled softly at him as he stood against the breakfast bar, watching as she turned away from the large windows she had been staring out at while biting her nails - a bad habit she'd picked up from Rachel over the years.
"Does it have anything to do with Rosalie?"
"Huh?"
"I know you haven't been on the best of terms, since she thought you'd basically invited Sam to come and attacked Renesmee," Jasper replied, his back stiff as he stared out into the tree line through the glass windows. It was almost as if he was looking for something.
Alice, most likely, Kiara thought. She hadn't seen the pixie haired vampire as much as usual recently and it was a rather interesting thought. If she didn't know better, Kiara would think that Alice had purposefully been avoiding her since she seemed to have no problem being around the other wolves. She wasn't sure what was up with her but she had bigger things to be stressed about than the vampire's strange behaviour.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that too," Kiara muttered as she turned away from the windows and moved towards the bar stools in the kitchen. Jasper looked at her intently as she approached, his eyes not even blinking. Kiara appreciated that the other vampires made an effort to keep up their human facade in front of her and the packs, but Jasper made less of an effort. He didn't feel the need, and Kiara kind of respected that.
"Want to talk about it?" Jasper asked, his tone gentle and understanding.
Taking a seat on one of the bar stools, Kiara sighed and ran a hand through her hair, tugging at the strands in frustration.
"I don't know, Jasper. It's just...Rosalie has been acting strange lately. And I get it, I do. Things are weird at the moment with Renesmee growing so quickly, and Sam's offer of me leading the packs... but I thought things were good between us. She apologised, I said we would move on and I thought that was the end of it but she's just felt distant for the past two weeks."
Jasper leaned against the counter, his expression sympathetic. Kiara and Jasper hadn't spent too much time together, but they'd slowly started to interact more as she settled into her new role as alpha. He'd help lead an army in his past (although Kiara didn't like to think too much about what army that was... and neither did Jasper), and his strategy planning was the best out of the coven. They'd formed a mutual understanding.
"Rosalie has always been a complicated being. She's protective of her family, fiercely so. And with everything that's been happening lately, I think she's struggling to reconcile her own emotions. You have to remember, Kiara, that she is haunted by her past. You're really the first person that's ever shown her pure love with no expectations in return, other than all of us."
Kiara nodded, absorbing his words and finding solace in them. She guessed that came with his gift - that he always had a way of cutting through the noise of her own emotions and getting to the heart of the matter. He paused, as if considering how much to share with Kiara.
"Rosalie is struggling with guilt. She feels remorseful for how she treated you before, but I think she's finding it hard to let that go since you're so forgiving," he told her, watching as she turned to look at him in confusion. "We all know you'd forgive her for anything in a heartbeat, but it's hard for her to understand that."
Kiara sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping with the weight of Jasper's revelation. She had always known that Rosalie carried deep-seated guilt from her past, but to hear it confirmed only made her heart ache even more.
"I never wanted her to feel this way," Kiara whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "I just wanted us to move forward, to be there for each other. I didn't want her to be weighing herself down with that but I think that's exactly what I've done..."
"No," Jasper replied, his voice a lot sterner this time. "You need to stop taking blame for things that aren't your fault. Rosalie was out of line - and deep down you know that too. You have this incredible ability to see the best in everyone, Kiara, but you need to allow yourself to feel things too."
Kiara nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. She had always been the one to see the good in people, to forgive and understand. But maybe she had neglected herself in the process. Maybe she had been too quick to brush off Rosalie's behavior, too eager to believe that everything would be okay.
"It's not your responsibility to fix everyone else's problems, Kiara," he said softly. "You can't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders."
She let out a shuddering breath, feeling the weight of her emotions threaten to consume her. For a brief second they almost did, but it was as if a soothing feeling brushed through her veins and she looked up at Jasper with a small appreciative smile.
"Now... since you're so good at this advice thing," Kiara joked, wiping at the tears that had formed in her eyes before they were able to spill. "What do YOU think I should do about this pack thing, huh?"
_____
The scent of garlic and rosemary wafted through the air, mingling with the earthy aroma of rain-soaked pine that clung to Kiara's skin. Kiara stepped over the threshold, her converse leaving faint rain impressions on the wooden floor. The sight before her stilled her heart - a table for two, set with an understated elegance that was unmistakably Rosalie.
"Rosalie?" Kiara called out, her voice softening as she drank in the soft atmosphere that had been created over the cabin. Her eyes flickered around for a moment before she spotted her.
In the kitchen, the source of the delectable smells, stood her imprint. Her golden hair spilled over her shoulders in a cascade of light, contrasting starkly against the dark hue of the cabin's interior. She was stirring something in a pot, the source of whatever Kiara had been able to smell from outside.
"Hey," Kiara said, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth as she approached Rosalie from behind. With a tenderness that she only reserved for the vampire, she wrapped her arms around Rosalie's slender waist, feeling the coolness of her lover's skin through the thin fabric of her shirt.
"Evening, love. How was patrol?" Rosalie asked without turning, her voice soothing as Kiara rested her head in the crook of Rosalie's neck.
"Same old bantering and yapping from Jacob and Leah," Kiara pressed her lips to the nape of Rosalie's neck, eliciting a faint shiver from the vampire. She tightened her embrace, grounding herself in the moment - the here and now with Rosalie. "But it's better now. I'm back with my girl."
"Nothing new there," Rosalie quipped, setting the spoon aside and turning within Kiara's arms to face her. Her golden eyes softened into pools of affection that reflected the flickering candlelight as they finally made eye contact.
The conversation with Jasper ran through Kiara's head, and she wondering if Rosalie would ever mention the guilt that had been eating her up. She figured now wasn't the time to bring that up, not when Rosalie had gone to all the effort to clearly make a nice evening for them both.
"Did I miss some sort of special occasion?" Kiara asked teasingly, gesturing towards the dinner table. "Or did you just miss me that much?"
"Can't it be both?" Rosalie responded playfully, her eyes sparkling with affection. She pressed a soft kiss to Kiara's lips before pulling back, motioning to the pan in front of her and hinting for Kiara to move so she could finish attending to it.
Rosalie's graceful hands moved with practiced precision as she plated up the meal, the soft clinks of cutlery against porcelain filling the warm air. The savory aroma of the food wafted towards Kiara, tempting her senses and making her stomach rumble in anticipation.
"Come on, let's sit down," Rosalie gestured towards the table, guiding Kiara to her seat. Rose petals in various shades of red were scattered across the table's surface, and a flickering candle cast a warm, inviting glow over the intimate setting.
"Wow, Rosalie. This is... amazing," Kiara murmured, taking in the romantic scene that her girlfriend had created just for her.
"Thank you, my love." Rosalie's voice was soft, her eyes gleaming with affection as she took her own seat, not even bothering to serve herself. Kiara knew well enough that Rosalie didn't need to eat human food, but it still struck her as incredibly sweet that Rosalie had taken the time to prepare this meal just for her.
As Kiara tucked into the meal - a delicious pesto and chicken pasta that she was sure Rosalie had spent years perfecting in Italy, or something dramatic like that - she couldn't help but notice that the blonde was almost... fidgety. It wasn't like her to be so nervous and it almost made Kiara stop eating as she looked at her with furrowed eyebrows. Rosalie hesitated for a moment, her fingers continued to fidget with the edge of the tablecloth before she met Kiara's gaze.
"I've been reflecting on how I've treated you in recent weeks," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "And I realized that I never really apologized for always blaming you for things and not trusting you."
Kiara opened her mouth to protest, but Rosalie held up a hand, silencing her.
"No, let me finish. I know it's not easy being part of two worlds – both the pack and our family. But that doesn't excuse my behavior towards you. You deserve better from me, and I'm truly sorry, Kiara."
As Rosalie's heartfelt words washed over her, Kiara felt a warmth in her chest that had nothing to do with the candlelight. She reached across the table, taking Rosalie's cold hand in her own and squeezing it gently.
"Thank you for saying that," Kiara said sincerely, her voice thick with emotion. "It means a lot to me. I didn't want to make you feel like you had to keep all this guilt bottled up... I just wanted to make things easier for you."
"Kiara," Rosalie interrupted, her eyes shimmering with determination. "I do need to apologise. I should have never doubted you or thought that you would willingly put any of us in danger. You've proven time and again that your loyalty knows no bounds, and I didn't give you the trust you deserved... and you need to learn to stop accepting everyone treating you like shit. You're allowed to be upset at me! I did a shitty thing, and you're allowed to be annoyed by that!"
A heavy silence filled the cozy log cabin as Kiara processed Rosalie's words. It was true – there had been a lot of times recently that she'd just accepted everything that had been thrown at her. From Paul's anger towards her, Bella's initial irritation at Renesmee being called Renesmee, the Cullens all thinking she'd let Sam attack Renesmee... She'd been excusing a lot of things recently that she never would have before.
"You're right," she admitted, swallowing past the lump in her throat. "It wasn't fair of you to doubt me like that."
Rosalie's eyes shone with relief as she squeezed Kiara's hand, her cold skin providing a stark contrast to the warmth radiating from the fireplace nearby. But she'd done something she couldn't have predicted - she'd opened a box that Kiara had been trying to keep closed.
"And you know what? It wasn't fair of me to just have to become an alpha to this pack that I didn't even want originally, just because of some stupid old-age spirits deciding I was better than Jacob," Kiara burst out, Rosalie's eyes widening a little in surprise at the sudden word-vomit. "And it's totally unfair that everyone is now expecting me to, like, unite the packs or something when Paul and I can barely be around each other without making everyone uncomfortable? Heck, I didn't even want Charlie Swan to know I'm a fucking huge wolf but Jake just had to go throw my business out there too!"
The flickering candlelight danced across the walls of the cozy log cabin, casting a warm glow over Rosalie and Kiara as they sat across from each other at the intimate dinner table. Kiara's chest heaved a little as she finally stopped ranting, instantly feeling like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
Rosalie stared at Kiara, her eyes filled with a mixture of surprise and concern. She hadn't expected such a torrent of pent-up emotions to spill out all at once, but now that they had, she could see the relief on Kiara's face. It was as if a dam had broken, freeing her from the burden of holding everything inside.
"Kiara," Rosalie began softly, reaching across the table to gently touch Kiara's hand. "I had no idea you were feeling this way. I'm sorry if I've added to your stress."
Kiara shook her head, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
"No, it's not just you. It's everything." She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "I've been trying so hard to keep everything together, to be what everyone needs me to be. But sometimes...sometimes it feels like too much."
Rosalie's expression softened as she listened, her hand never leaving Kiara's. For a few moments, she didn't say anything, her eyes wide and blinking. Then, slowly, she reached out, taking both of Kiara's hands into hers.
"That..." she began, her voice faltering. She cleared her throat and tried again. "That's a lot you've been carrying, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I guess it is," Kiara muttered, letting out a short laugh that bordered on hysterical. "Sometimes... Sometimes I just wish things could be a little simpler, you know?"
Rosalie nodded, her heart aching for the weight Kiara had been silently carrying. Kiara's eyes met Rosalie's, filled with a mix of gratitude and vulnerability.
"You're right," Kiara said softly. "I shouldn't have been bottling everything up."
"You know, say the words and I'll be here to catch you whenever you feel like you're falling," she assured Kiara. Rosalie smiled encouragingly, her thumb gently tracing circles on the back of her hand. "You don't have to do these things alone, Kie. Me and you... whether we like it or not - we're a team for the rest of eternity."
"I love you," Kiara whispered, her voice filled with sincerity.
"I love you too. But Kiara... I need you to know that you deserve so much better than me," Rosalie's golden eyes flashed with a mixture of vulnerability and determination as she spoke up, her voice barely above a whisper.
Kiara's laughter filled the room like music, chasing away any lingering shadows of doubt. She leaned across the table, capturing Rosalie's lips in a gentle kiss that spoke volumes about the depth of their love.
"Even if I did deserve better, I wouldn't want it," she murmured against Rosalie's cool skin. "I've got everything I need, just here, with you."
Rosalie's heart swelled with love as she returned Kiara's kiss, their lips melding together in a perfect harmony. The weight of their shared burdens seemed to melt away in that moment, leaving behind only the pure and unadulterated connection they had built over time. As their lips parted, Rosalie gazed into Kiara's eyes, her own shimmering with love and determination.
"And I have everything I need right here with you," Rosalie whispered, her voice filled with a resolute conviction.
Kiara's eyes twinkled with affection as she brushed a stray lock of blonde hair behind Rosalie's ear. Their entwined fingers lingered on the tabletop, Kiara squeezing Rosalie's hands gently as she smiled across the table at her, lifting a hand away for a second to wipe at a stray tear that had crawled down her cheek.
"You know what?" Kiara began after a moment of silence, managing to return Rosalie's smile with one of her own. "I think this is exactly what I needed tonight. Not just the apology... but this talk too."
Rosalie squeezed her hand in return before standing up. She moved around the table and pulled Kiara into a gentle hug.
"Then this night turned out exactly as I'd hoped," she murmured into Kiara's hair.
The two remained in their embrace for several minutes as the fire crackled on in the background and the moonlight filtered through the window of the cabin. At some point during their talk, the tension that had plagued their relationship seemed to have dissolved away.
Kiara knew there was bound to be something else causing trouble soon - but at least now she had Rosalie truly on her side. And for tonight, that was more than enough to soothe her troubled heart. More importantly, it was as if things suddenly seemed a lot more clearer in her mind.
"Rose?"
"Hmm?"
"I know what I want to do about the packs."